Metroid Trials
Metroid Trials is a Metroid spin-off game created by Lunatic Entertainment. Gameplay Development Initial conceptualization of the game began in 1996, under the title Metroid 4, after Somarinoa's initial discovery of Metroid 3: Super Metroid. During this time period, the game featured Samus Aran in the starring role as she battled the Space Pirates on yet another planet. Little work was done on the game as this period of time involved little more than concepts written down on paper and a smattering of artwork. During this time period, a young Somarinoa failed to understand the terminology for "Metroid" and believed it referred to Samus, herself; as such, the initial game idea involved Samus Aran having to battle several other cybernetic space hunters—specifically Zortron the Super Metroid, Biotron the Mega Metroid, Destron the Havok Metroid, Spectron the Ultra Metroid, and finally Blazord the Omega Metroid. However, this game was put on hold for a few years with the release of Metroid 4: Metroid Fusion in 2002. In 2002, what could retroactively be considered some concept art for the continuation of the game was sprited with some edited sprites of species such as Scisers colored in Samus' Phazon Suit colors. Around 2005 or 2006, small work was done on the game again, this time with Samus completely removed as Somarinoa had begun the idea of letting his fan games not contend directly with official canon, thus meaning that they could technically still happen in the same universe. At this time Adus Lesk was created as her replacement, though no art of him was ever visualized. It was at this point that the game received the title "Metroid Trials". Work done involved the creation of the Necrusk as the game's primary antagonists as well as the creation of the Toryd, being Somarinoa's personal Space Pirate species for the game. It was at this time that Evirs were considered as a member of the Space Pirates due to Super Metroid's inclusion of Draygon as a primary boss. Not only this but Phantoon was considered for a return, though this time with a "Super Metroid" attached to his head; this concept would quickly be deemed ridiculous but would lead to Phantroon and by extension, the basis of the ultimate reveal for the final concept of the game. The game concept would again be put on hiatus within the year after a computer crash caused the loss of all previous information. In 2010, the game idea was picked up again "out of boredom" and after Somarinoa had played and beat Metroid II: Return of Samus on emulation for the first time (although he owned a copy of the game, he no longer had a working Game Boy to utilize with it.) It was during this time that Phantroon and the others were created, as was the visualization of Adus Lesk's armor, as well as his origin story. This also was the time for the creation of both the planet and moon, Tozera and Tozect, as well as their respective biomes. Morgue, Springheel, and Xeno Agent Orola were also created during this time. The idea behind the Toryd being brutes that were weakened by a congenital virus was thought up as well as the exact purpose of the Necrusk was decided upon as yet another galactic threat; their connection to species seen in earlier canonical entries was also made. Beyond this, work was mostly halted in October of that year when being forced to move back home to Alaska. In 2011, the idea of removing Ridley from the game and replacing him with a different Space Dragon was considered to fit with the idea of "keeping Samus out of it". This led to the creation of Giger, an older Space Dragon who was resurrected and served as a general to, but not as the commander of, the Space Pirates. Sprite artwork for Dessgeegas was done around this time period and Samus Aran was considered on-and-off to be placed back in the game as a side story or epilogue chapter as a way to simply appease fans of the series, but the game was eventually thrown into hiatus once more as work became a priority for the next six years. In 2017, several sprites were designed during this period as well for past species intended to return, including Menus, Rippers and Ripper IIs, Zebs, and Zoomers. With the release and subsequent failure of Federation Force, partially blamed upon the lack of Samus as a playable character, she was brought back into the fold for Metroid Trials. Story The story takes place some time after the events of ''Metroid Fusion, hinting at occurring at least a few years later.'' Adus' Trial: Prologue The game starts out with a personal narrative of Adus Lesk. He explains that in his teenage years, both of his parents worked aboard the Biologic Space Laboratory, a space station that orbited the planet SR388. However when the space station was destroyed via unknown means, he concluded that it must have been the work of Space Pirates, leading to his joining the Galactic Federation Space Marine Corps. It is his first mission into the cosmos, serving aboard the Anhur-class GFS Telephus. Some months have passed without any problems when a garbled, untranslatable signal is intercepted, set on repeat and originating from the nearby Zessa System. Their captain fears that it could either be an actual distress signal from a downed vessel in need of assistance that has encrypted its signal in fear of Space Pirate interference or, more disturbingly, a trap set in place by the Space Pirates themselves to lure in would-be good Samaritans, it is decided that they have little choice but to check the system out for themselves. Once they arrived in the system, the signal was easily tracked to the moon of the desert planet Tozect: the lush Tozera. Adus admits he is on edge, but that he does not know if it is out of fear or excitement. A cutscene then plays showing the Telephus flying towards Tozera, where the screen fades to black for a few seconds before fading back in as the ship descends through the dense cloud cover onto the planetary surface. The ship lands hard though successfully in a small area referred to as the Spiroshi Highlands, a karstic limestone plateau located roughly a mile above Canopia, a local rainforest. As the crew disembark, they make note of how the Telephus takes up the entire area and the dangers of the nearby rocks. After a diagnosis of the ship's hull reveals the harsh landing damaged its fuselage and landing gear and that repairs must be made, the marines split up to both cover more ground and to secure several areas for makeshift bases as the landing zone provides no room for maneuverability. Adus is placed into Fire Team Gamma alongside Xeno Agent Orola, another (currently unnamed) Human, and fellow private first class Wrengl. The 19 other crew members also split into fire teams of four individuals each: Fire Team Α works on ship repairs while β guards the perimeter; Γ, Δ, and ε all extend said perimeter in different directions while performing initial reconnaissance to seek out the source of the signal. frame|Adus Lesk in his new nanobot power armor. After setting up two hard light bridges to cross deep gaps in the terrain, Lesk slips and falls into a pit and must traverse around to make it back up to the others. During this period of time, Lesk encounters a critically wounded Space Hunter. The hunter tries to communicate with Lesk but his language is not in the Galactic Federation's database and is thus untranslatable. The hunter then just as suddenly as it is unexpectedly relinquishes his suit, which melts off of him in a heap of nanobots that then pursue Lesk. He can try to escape but is unable to flee; the nanobots crack through his armor, swiftly dropping his energy meter to 1 pip before they rebuild themselves onto him, conveys the hunter's armor to the surprised marine as his energy tanks refill. The hunter speaks once more, his language translating in real time, to wish the marine good luck continuing his mission before he faints, presumably passing away. Stunned, Lesk continues on his journey, eventually making his way back to Fire Team Γ. Shocked to see Lesk's new appearance, the team decide to report back to the Telephus. However, upon arrival the team find that Fire Teams Α and β, as well as the co-pilot have all been slaughtered. Upon further inspection, the crew's mechanic, a Craftsman named Clutch is found hiding in the landing gear of the ship. He informs the survivors that a mysterious creature came and took the pilot and that the crew's captain followed after him, guns blazing. After setting up the perimeter turrets that had not yet been turned on, Orola stays behind while the three human marines split up to make contact with Fire Teams Δ and ε, who are not responding. Adus Trial: Spiroshi Highlands Adus Trial: Scumire Adus Trial: Fungrila Adus Trial: Canopia Adus Trial: Undermire Adus Trial: Ancient Hive Adus Trial: The Subterranean Forest Adus Trial: Gleamia Adus Trial: The Subterranean Lake Adus Trial: The Science Labs Adus Trial: The Pirate Headquarters Enemies Major Bosses Metraid Metroon Metraygon Metridley Giger Mini-Bosses Finalfish A giant ichthyoid that chases Adus Lesk through the final part of Scumire. Gets left behind as Adus leaves the swamp and it sings sadly as it watches him leave, but when he returns a short period of time later it suddenly evolves legs and hops onto land to attack him. Gharibrine An adult Caimoke that has fully matured by the time that Adus Lesk successfully reaches it. Found in the subterranean lake where the heat of its body is causing the surrounding water to boil. Recurring Bosses Big Time Brannigan frame|'Big Time' Brannigan, a hunter indentured to the Space Pirates "Big Time" Brannigan is a space hunter who once was considered second only to Samus herself. He took a job with the Space Pirates to bring in Samus but his greed got the better of him and she escaped; this led to the Space Pirates taking him to be executed via Metroid but his negotiation skills spared his life. However now he is indebted to them and serves as a personal hunter who only works for the Space Pirates. Brannigan is currently serving the needs of Giger, keeping the science facility on Tozect running smoothly and running security for the base. He treats Adus Lesk as any other intruder with no unique behavior alteration from his norm but by the time Samus arrives the base is under full Necrusk infestation, Brannigan included. However upon seeing her his inner rage towards her bypasses the Necrusk in his brain and attacks. This leads to Samus figuring out a way to stop the Necrusk before they get out of hand. Morgue Springheel Zegan Doh "Chopping" Zegan is a space hunter focusing on melee combat who arrived on Tozera alongside Springheel and the hunter who would become Morgue. Adus Lesk encounters him while trying to gain access to the Planet-Moon Gun transport that Clutch has recently finished repairs on. With both characters desperate to get off the moon in the wake of the release of the Necrusk, a battle quickly ensues. He is capable of dealing massive damage with his chopper arm; not only this but his shield arm can block incoming energy blasts. Luckily however, his cybernetic body cannot handle quick freezes followed by concussive blasts, which will crack his plating and leave him vulnerable. Zegan is later seen during Samus' tale, where he is revealed to have been possessed by the Necrusk. He is far stronger this time around, and Samus does appear to recognize him. To defeat him, she has to damage him enough and then trap him in a containment chamber. Space Pirate Species Evir Puyo and Toryd A relatively harmless creature has revealed itself to be a formidable foe. Space Pirates Aetherian Bermudan Gigerian Guard Tallonian Thrash-Hunter Thrash-Hunters are a new genetic hybrid created by merging the DNA of a Zebesian and another unknown species, possibly the Luminoth. Standing 8.5' tall, they eschew mechanical weapons in lieu of their own sharp, saber-like claws. They are chameleonic, camouflaging themselves to hide their location while they crawl along ceilings to leap down upon unsuspecting foes. Once low on health, they will self-destruct to try and take their foe with them. Underworlder Urtraghusian Zebesian Zero and Kihunter frame|A larval Kihunter, more commonly referred to as a Zero. Zeros are the slow-moving larval state of the extragalactic Kihunters, Space Pirates from another galaxy. They molt so rapidly and often that they are almost always seen leaving a shedding behind. They are not openly aggressive, although the spines on their bodies will injure anyone touching them. Two types are found on Tozect—green and brown. Green Zeroes will remain generally passive and are seen over time to mature into regular Kihunters while Brown Zeroes will become stressed if attacked enough times and will rapidly metamorph into Kihunters in explosive fury. Kihunters are the adult forms of Zeroes and one of several Space Pirate species joined together into the Space Pirate conglomerate. Far more aggressive than their larval counterparts, Kihunters attack by flying around and swooping down to strike with their clawed hands. Their wings are fragile and can easily be shot off, dropping the Kihunter to the ground; however they are not without recourse. Once grounded they will resort to hopping about, spitting acid at their foes. Minor Enemies Bang Bang are a species of ameboid creature capable of absorbing energy into itself to feed. When struck with an energy blast such as a beam attack, they flash and grow larger. If an attacker continues to fill it with energy however it will ultimately become overloaded, burst and die, sending out a massive shockwave in the process, likely injuring the attacker in the process. Although rare throughout the universe, the space hunter Springheel has several at his disposal that he can use to cover his escape should his luck go south and he become injured. Springheel releases numerous Bangs as he attempts to escape Adus Lesk's pursuit in Canopia. Boyon Boyons are a species of gelatinous amorphs naturally found in the ((Subterranean Forest)) though several are also in the Science Labs where they have escaped confinement and now mostly can be found hiding in the ventilation ducts. Codex entries in the Science Labs reveals that they are a natural prey item for the Toryds which use their elongated necks to pluck them out of their homes. They are extremely resilient creatures and can sustain multiple concussive blasts from bombs, super missiles and power bombs; they are immune to everything else with the sole exception of the pierce bomb. They are normally passive and will not move until a large threat approaches their nest. At this point they will repeatedly bounce out of their hole aggressively until the offending creature leaves. They can be frozen in place to use as makeshift platforms or to extend running paths for speed boosts, but are also occasionally used to open pathways. This is done by hitting them with a pierce bomb and moving away before it detonates; this causes the creature to drop back down into its nest and when the bomb finally detonates it can open up otherwise hidden routes. In the Science Labs, they nest in ventilation shafts and are unseen until approached. This causes them to leap up which the first time they do this will send the vent grating flying, possibly spooking the player. One however will be stuck to its vent and can be stood on to get to a higher area as it bounces up and down. Several Boyons fall into the arena along with the player upon entering Metraygon's lair where they reveal her presence when she suddenly sucks them all in and eats them right before the lights flicker on. Caimoke frame|A juvenile Caimoke. A genetically enhanced subspecies of Stoke that has been modified to inhabit the subterannean lake. They break out of the science labs during a battle with ((the Science Labs Boss)) and scatter. Several are fought at varying stages of development. Cutter Large beetle-like creature. Related to Slicers & Snippers. Dessgeega frame|A jumping Small Dessgeega. Dessgeega are a species of crab-walking and hopping extremophiles indigenous to the magma-filled caverns of Norfair on the planet Zebes. They were brought to Tozect, like so many other species, for study and potential genetic modification for use as makeshift bio-organic weapons; however a disgruntled Zebesian scientist released them into the magma fields used to power the science labs themselves. Their primary attack is to simply leap on prey, crushing them underfoot. Interestingly, they can actually leap from ceilings and defy gravity by returning to the ceiling at the end of their jump. Successful studies have not been performed to explain this technique. They are also capable of spitting a web that will immobilize their prey temporarily. Giant Dessgeega are also encountered, which are the same as regular Dessgeega but create a damaging shockwave upon landing. Geega frame|A Geega. Geega are a species of small, aggressive aerial creatures with disproportionately bigger heads in comparison to their bodies. They were released by the Zebesians into the subterranean forest as a means of natural defense against intruders that they wouldn't have to monitor or keep track of. They have made nests all over the subterranean forest in the various air ducts scattered about the environment. One of the many experiments revealed in the science labs is the Zebeega, a hybrid of the Zeb and the Geega in an attempt to get a more formidable creature out of them. This project is considered an abject failure and it has not seen field use. Gloh Firefly-like creature. Exist in the caves. Gripper Killopod Violent centipede-like creature. Exists in the caves. Menu frame|A Menu. These small flighty creatures congregate in swarms for protection, hovering out of reach and swooping down on intruders. Although they originated within Maridia on the planet Zebes, several were brought over to Tozect with the intention to see if they were viable for genetic modification. They were deemed to simplistic and were killed off in droves to free up space, though several escaped and made their way into the subterranean lake area where they bred and made a new home. They prefer dark areas where they are less likely to be seen, especially in Metraid's Lair, as they are easy prey for the numerous Masstroids. Oraora Digging creature. Exists in the caves. Reflec Reflecs are machines formerly found on Zebes that hover in place that have been repurposed for use in the Toryd's science labs in an attempt to make traversal incomprehensible to would-be invaders. Reflecs, as their name suggest, reflect shots, and can actually reflect both energy beam energy and missiles. The user must be careful though as they can easily be injured in the process. Ripper and Ripper II frame|A Ripper. Rippers, also known as "Specimen SR-478" are a species of barely-sentient, hard-shelled, insectoid troglobites that were formerly found in much of the ecosystems of their home planet of Zebes before its destruction. Perhaps due to their hardened shells, they have become sluggishly slow-moving and effectively brainless, moving back and forth along set paths in search of food, paying little to no mind towards other species passing by. However, more likely due to their plasma propulsion shoving them into victims rather than any intended aggression, they are still able to injure those that come into contact with them. They have light-sensitive retinas that give them keen vision in deep, cavernous locations, which is odd as they do not appear to utilize it. They also possess powerful legs, hinting at a grounded portion of their lives not recorded in current records. frame|left|A Ripper II. Ripper IIs are an evolution of the regular Ripper which originally resided within the caverns of Norfair. The plasma propulsion jet most of the genus use to fly ignites in the heat of the molten area and sends the Ripper IIs careening at breakneck speeds. Metal in their shells allows them to be utilized as a grapple point. Notably, both species are hardy enough that Ice Beams will not kill them and they can be used as makeshift platforms. The Zebesians extracted both Ripper and Ripper IIs and moved them over to Tozect for experimentation, leading to the creation of the aggressive Gripper. Rippers and Ripper IIs have been released into the wild, and can be found in the upper and lower regions of the Ancient Hive, respectively. Roalch Scatter Bug. Exists at the Hive Entrance. Sandfish Sandswimming fish-like creature. Exists in Gleamia. Slicer Large beetle-like creature. Related to Cutters & Snippers. Sliphopper A genetically enhanced subspecies of Sidehopper that has been modified to slip between dimensions during their leaps only to phase back in right before landing, making them much more difficult to contend with as the opponent won't predict their trajectories as well. They break out of the science labs early on after the Zebesian scientists are distracted at a crucial moment by Lesk's arrival. Snipper Large beetle-like creature. Related to Cutters & Slicers. Tallon Chameleon Tallon Chameleons are a species of six-legged reptilianoid indigenous to the decimated planet Tallon IV. They were accidentally introduced into the Canopia ecosystem on Tozera via visiting Space Pirates who survived the crash of the frigate Orpheon. They now roam Canopia, moving about aimlessly before zapping their tongue across the field and using that to yank them over to the other side of an area; this is potentially dangerous to unwary passersby. Ukalaril Zeb frame|A Zeb. A species of insectoid related to the Beetles of Tallon IV. They are colonial and live in burrows, either by burrowing into soft soil or if their colony is lucky, they will use an air duct instead, saving them the trouble. They are naturally resilient to acid, and can reside in it, making them somewhat amphibious by nature. A failed hybrid of these and the Geega called the Zebeega can be located in observation tanks in the science labs, though they were deemed a failure by the Zebesian scientists working on them. Zoomer frame|A Zoomer. The simple-minded Zoomers have infested the tunnels of Tozect, and can be found in several areas, crawling along the walls and ledges in search of sustenance. They will ignore Lesk but if he threatens them with harm, their spiny backsides will show him no mercy. A number of Zoomers have become an invasive species on Tozera's moon, Tozera thanks to earlier Space Pirate interference. Though this is worrisome, a local creature in Canopia has taken to eating them in droves, keeping them in check. Category:Somarinoa's Content Category:Metroid Fanon Category:Games Category:Fangames